Data-acquisition systems for the present and the future

Basic components of today's acquisition systems are surveyed. These include front-end tools such as microprocessors, programmable controllers, and CAMAC interfaces. Some key concepts in large central real-time systems are examined: Hardware and Software architecture, and data base structure. Some trends in present data acquisition system design are analyzed, including increasing distribution of system functions and expansion to hierarchical multi-processor netowrks. With the evolution of microprocessors, front-end intelligence is growing into front-end computing power. Real-time host systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated human interface and data base management tools, with increasingly complex operating systems, and increasing amounts of memory, mass storage, and computing power. And the ultimate analysis of plasma data is becoming increasingly sophisticated